Garden shears



Jan. 13, 1942. v c. GUTMAN 7 2,269,764

GARDEN SHEARS Filed Aug. 9, 1939 CW5 6295mm.-

Patented Jan. 13, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARDEN SHEARS Charles Gutman, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 9, 1939, Serial No. 289,236

2 Claims.

The invention relates generally to shears of the garden or pruning type, and more particularly to means for limiting the opening of the cutting blades.

The invention has among its objects the construction of such a shears which is simple in construction, durable and very efiicient for the purposes intended.

A further object of the invention is the construction of such a shears in which the blades may be prevented from completely separating and yet when desired, may be easily and readily separated for sharpening, etc.

Another object of the invention is the construction of such a shears in which the means for limiting the opening movement of the blades is entirely separate from the blades and in no Way interferes with the sharpening thereof.

Another object of the invention is the construction of such a shears having the above features which is constructed with relatively few parts, thereby being easily manufactured, assembled, and capable of withstanding much wear and abuse.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein given.

To this end my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts herein shown and described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing wherein like reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the shears embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of the same;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the blades separated for sharpening or the like; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 44 of Fig. 1.

The shears illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a pair of shanks l and 2 having blades 3 and 4, respectively, adjacent corresponding ends thereof.

The blades are secured to the-respective shanks by rivets 5 or the like passing through the blades and the flanges 6 of the shanks, the flanges 6 being offset as shown in Fig. 2 from the major portions of the shanks l and 2, thereby raising the hand gripping portions 1 and 8 of the respective shanks above the plane of the cutting blades. A substantially cylindrical spring 9, formed from a resilient plate, is secured to the opposite ends spring '9 and the respective end of the shanks or by other suitable means, the ends of the shanks flaring outwardly as shown at l2 and 13, respectively, to receive the spring. The spring is preferably formed from flat stock as shown, although if desired, could be formed from stock of different shape. The ends 14 and iii of the spring are bent inwardly towards one another, as shown in Fig. 1. The extreme ends are bent laterally towards one another and provided with interlocking means for limiting the opening movement of the blades. In the construction shown these take the form of projections I6 and [1, the end l5 being ofiset as shown at l8 to allow room for lateral movement of the projection 16. Obviously, if desired, the interlocking portions may be constructed in other forms as for example, by a projection on one end of the spring passing through a slot in the other end.

If desired, the hand gripping portion 1 of the shank I may be provided with a finger rest l9 while the portion 8 of the shank 2 may be provided with a corresponding thumb engaging portion 2| to assist the operator in gripping the shears. It will be noted that the blades are free to open, the spring 9 urging them to open position, but when opened to the maximum position shown in Fig. 1, will be prevented from completely separating by the engagement of the projections l6 and ll of the spring, which will prevent any further opening movement of the blades. The projections I6 and I1 obviously will not otherwise interfere with any cutting movement of the blades and will not afiect the closing thereof. However, when it is desired to completely separate the blades, as shown in Fig. 3, for sharpening purposes, etc., the shanks are merely moved longitudinally relative each other as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the shank I being moved longitudinally towards the blade 3 until the projection l6 clears the projection [1. thereby allowing the portions l4 and I5 of the spring to separate from one another, as shown in Fig. 3. In this condition, the blades 3 and 4 may be readily sharpened, and it will be noted that both blades are entirely free of projections or other means which would interfere with sharpening of the blades, in contrast to ordinary shears employing means on the blades for preventing the latter from completely separating. The projections l6 and I! are interlocked again merely by reversing the operation, the shank I being moved longitudinally in the direction of the blade 3 until the projection l6 clears the of the shanks by rivets ll passing through the 55 projection ll, after which the shank may be al lowed to resume its original position shown in Fig. 1.

It will be noted from the above description that I have provided novel means for limiting the opening movement of the blades which means is incorporated with the actuating spring thereof, thereby eliminating any projections or the like on the blades which would interfere with sharpening thereof, etc.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence, I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts herein shown and described or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shears, the combination of a pair of shanks, each shank terminating at an adjacent end in a cooperating blade, a resilient plate bent to form an annular expansion spring connecting substantially tangentially, intermediate its ends, the opposite ends of said shanks, the ends of said spring extending inwardly to overlap one another, each extreme end thereof being bent laterally towards each other, whereby such laterally extending portions engage one another as the shears are completely opened to prevent said blades from separating.

2. In a shears, a pair of shanks each terminating at an adjacent end in a blade, a resilient plate having its extreme end portions projecting transversely in opposite directions to provide stop members, said plate being distorted to form a substantially annular spring with its end portions overlapping and said stop members normally in operative position wherein the spring is prevented from opening, the other ends of said shanks being connected substantially tangentially with the annular spring contiguous the respective ends thereof at angles such that said blades are normally in open position, said spring being yieldable to permit movement of the blades together and their return to open position, said stop members being disengaged by manual manipulation to permit further separation of the blades for convenience in sharpening.

CHARLES GUTMAN. 

